The United Nations and the Afghan government recently warned that Afghanistan needs $27 billion over the next seven years to avoid going back to a state of chaos and lawlessness. However, at the Berlin donor conference for Afghanistan’s reconstruction, donor countries pledged only $8.2 billion over the next three years, reports BBC News. In addition, the UN and Afghan government report stated that “aid has been much lower than expected or promised. In comparison to other conflict or post-conflict situations, Afghanistan appears to have been neglected.”
In addition to a lack of aid money for the country, security remains a threat to Afghanistan’s reconstruction. According to the New York Times, a study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, reconstruction efforts as of yet have been undercut by security problems and irregular disbursements of aid.
Earlier this week, President Karzai announced that the elections were to be postponed for three months due to insecurity and the lack of registered voters. Despite the dire security situation in Afghanistan, peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan remain a small contingent of some 5,500 soldiers. Without security, women in Afghanistan will never be able to obtain their rights and the country will never have sustained peace and democracy.
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